On this day

November 30, 1985

Revisit the music, news, notable people, and historical moments connected to this date.

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Headlines from November 30, 1985

THE WRONG WILLIE JONES SPENDS 3 MONTHS IN JAIL

By Selwyn Raab

For the first 33 years of his life, Willie Jones says, his name never got him into trouble. But last June, mainly because he had the same name as a man wanted on drug charges in Manhattan, Mr. Jones, after being arrested on a charge of evading a subway fare, was wrongly identified through a computer name check and imprisoned for three months on Rikers Island. Law enforcement officials acknowledged that no fingerprint comparisons were made to determine whether Mr. Jones was the Willie Jones who had been arrested on felony drug counts in March and, while free on parole, had failed to show up for a court hearing. Mr. Jones said Legal Aid Society lawyers who represented him refused to believe his protests that he was a victim of mistaken identity. Instead, he said, they offered him plea bargains from prosecutors for a reduced sentence if he pleaded guilty to the drug charges and avoided a trial.

Metropolitan Desk1429 words

RISE IN LEGAL DRINKING AGE STARTS AMID HOPE AND SOME SKEPTICISM

By Clifford D. May

Starting at 12:01 A.M. tomorrow it will be illegal for anyone under 21 years of age to be sold an alcoholic beverage in New York State. New York will join 31 other states that have set 21 as the minimum drinking age. Five more states will raise the drinking age to 21 next year. Along the New York border, only Vermont and the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario will allow people under 21 to purchase a bottle or a drink.

Metropolitan Desk1111 words

U.S. PRESSES ISRAEL FOR TALKS WITH 2 NAMED IN SPY CASE

By David K. Shipler, Special To the New York Times

The United States today stepped up its public pressure on Israel to permit questioning of two Israeli diplomats, and possibly other officials, in connection with the case of a United States Navy employee, Jonathan Jay Pollard, charged with selling secret documents. A State Department spokesman, Charles Redman, expressed dismay that Israel had so far failed to abide by a pledge to allow the officials to be questioned. Mr. Redman said the two Israeli diplomats, identified in Jerusalem as Mr. Pollard's contacts, left the United States last Friday, a day after Mr. Pollard was arrested in Washington. Mr. Redman said the Israeli Government did not notify the State Department of their departure. 'We Were Not Informed' ''We have no explanation for that departure,'' Mr. Redman said at his regular news briefing. ''We were not informed. We are dismayed that the Government of Israel was not as forthcoming as we would have hoped and expected. But the important point now, and the crucial point, is that we have prompt access to those involved.''

National Desk1093 words

TO FIRST LADY OF PHILIPPINES, THE MARCOS ERA IS CAMELOT

By Seth Mydans, Special To the New York Times

Sometimes, says Imelda Romualdez Marcos, when the accusations of extravagance, corruption and misrule get her down she thinks of her favorite movie. ''O.K., they don't like my face,'' Mrs. Marcos, 52 years old, the wife of President Ferdinand E. Marcos, said of her American critics. ''But I can be a good friend. I feel like the hunchback of Notre Dame. Here was this man, but such a beautiful spirit, you know? It is my favorite movie.'' ''They call me corrupt, frivolous,'' Mrs. Marcos said in an interview in a dining room of Malacanang Palace. ''I am not at all privileged. Maybe the only privileged thing is my face. And corrupt? God! I would not look like this if I am corrupt. Some ugliness would settle down on my system.''

Foreign Desk1419 words

SABOTAGE CRIPPLES JAPAN RAIL LINES

By Clyde Haberman, Special To the New York Times

Saboteurs today knocked out key rail communications and signal systems, forcing the shutdown of 23 commuter lines during the morning rush hour and causing a nightmarish journey to work for millions of riders. The saboteurs, described by the authorities as left-wing extremists, caused the disruption by slashing vital cables and setting fires at key sections of the Japan National Railways in Tokyo and Osaka. The actions appeared to be well coordinated. The damage was repaired by midafternoon, and service was at least partially restored on all lines in time for the evening rush hour. #48 People Arrested The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department announced that it had arrested 48 people, including leaders of a radical group known as the Chukakuha, or Middle Core Faction. Some were seized after reportedly having stormed the Asakusabashi train station in eastern Tokyo, seriously damaging it in a fire-bomb attack.

Foreign Desk918 words

Music on My Birthday

Billboard 200

The Top 50 albums for the chart week of November 27, 1985, covering November 30, 1985.

  1. 1
    Album cover for Miami Vice by Soundtrack

    Miami Vice

    Soundtrack

    Last week
    1
    Peak
    1
    Weeks
    8
  2. 2
    Album cover for Scarecrow by John Mellencamp

    Scarecrow

    John Mellencamp

    Last week
    2
    Peak
    2
    Weeks
    12
  3. 3
    Album cover for Heart by Heart

    Heart

    Heart

    Last week
    4
    Peak
    3
    Weeks
    21
  4. 4
    Album cover for Brothers In Arms by Dire Straits

    Brothers In Arms

    Dire Straits

    Last week
    3
    Peak
    1
    Weeks
    26
  5. 5
    Album cover for In Square Circle by Stevie Wonder

    In Square Circle

    Stevie Wonder

    Last week
    5
    Peak
    5
    Weeks
    7

Notable Births

Kaley Cuoco

1985Kaley Cuoco, American actress[†]

Kaley Christine Cuoco is an American actress. She starred as Bridget Hennessy on the ABC sitcom 8 Simple Rules (2002–2005), Penny on the CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory (2007–2019), and as the title character in the HBO Max comedic thriller The Flight Attendant (2020–2022). The lattermost earned her nominations for Primetime Emmy Awards and Golden Globe Awards.

Hikari Mitsushima

1985Hikari Mitsushima, Japanese actress and singer[†]

Hikari Mitsushima is a Japanese actress, singer and model. In 2017 she was the vocalist and dancer in Mondo Grosso's videos for "Labyrinth", which has garnered over 35 million views on YouTube as of February 2023, and "In this World".

Chrissy Teigen

1985Chrissy Teigen, American model[†]

Christine Diane Teigen is an American model, television personality, and author. She made her professional modeling debut in the annual Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, in 2010, and appeared on the 50th-anniversary cover alongside Nina Agdal and Lily Aldridge, in 2014.

Luis Valbuena

1985Luis Valbuena, Venezuelan baseball player (died 2018)[†]

Luis Adan Valbuena was a Venezuelan professional baseball infielder. He played eleven seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), from 2008 through 2018, for the Seattle Mariners, Cleveland Indians, Chicago Cubs, Houston Astros and Los Angeles Angels. While primarily a third baseman, Valbuena also played second base and first base. He was killed alongside José Castillo in a 2018 car crash in Venezuela caused by bandits in an attempted robbery.

Historical Context for November 30, 1985

In 1985, the world population was approximately 4,868,943,465 people[†]